Let me begin by sharing my love-hate relationship with some of the dehumidifiers I have purchased. Though they have helped me to combat mould and damp on walls and kept my basement dry, they tend to also have reliability issues too. My challenge was to find a good dehumidifier that does the job perfectly, without any drawbacks or reliability problems. For me, the dehumidifier had to remove excess moisture and reduce humidity but the hard task was to find an effective one. After considering various features, I finally managed to get the best one! So, I’ll share with you some important tips that helped me finding the best dehumidifier.

Dehumidifiers will definitely remove moisture from the air, but you should choose an appropriate sized dehumidifier depending on the square footage of your selected space. Having a continuous drain option in your dehumidifier ensures continuous removal of the moisture from the space, without the need to empty water every time. Also, the holding capacity of the dehumidifier should at least range between 3 to 5 gallons.

Humidity level: The desired humidity level (50 to 70%) can be set with the help of a built-in hygrometer or humidistat. This device can determine the humidity in your home, and you can test the levels almost every day.

Size: Usually dehumidifiers cover lesser area than the manufacturers claim, so best to buy a larger sized dehumidifier than you actually require. Selecting the right fit for a single room, multiple room, bathroom, office and large basements is a crucial task. However, the hygrometer and ACH (air changes per hour) can help get the accurate reading for the space you need to dehumidify.

Type: The type of dehumidifiers vary from heat pumps, compressor, petlier, ventilating dehumidifiers, chemical (salt based) absorbent dehumidifiers, refrigerant and desiccant. The most common among these is refrigerant, where the moist air is drawn in by the refrigerated coil with a fan. This type is usually cheap and easy to operate, so best for domestic use.

Air flow: I had determined the amount of air flow with respect to the size of my room. The CFM (cubic feet per minute) and pints requirement should be supported by the dehumidifier that you intend to buy.

After considering the above features (source: www.bestdehumidifierguide.co.uk), I managed to get a dehumidifier that kept my basement’s humidity level at 50% and the basement was no more damp and a filled with an unpleasant smell.Along with the above features, reviews about different dehumidifiers also helped me make the right decision in buying the best model.

While choosingt he type of dehumidifier, budget, area and other preferences also matter. The compressor driven dehumidifier pulls out the air through two sets of coils, one to cool and other to draw excess moisture. The dehumidifier I have now, also has an Auto Defrost and Auto Shut off feature that prevents the coil from icing out and will switch off automatically .It is wise to clean the dehumidifiers regularly, else it encourages bacterial growth and increases health risks to you. I strictly follow the manufacturer’s instructions and clean them to avoid bacterial growth.

With the October school half term rapidly approaching, my husband has the opportunity to take a week away from work, so we plan to take a break for a few days. I started looking around for some places to stay but of course we have left it way too late to get anywhere at a reasonable price!

First thing, is it me but when did October school holiday breaks become so expensive? I know you can expect a price hike in Easter and during the summer holidays, but October? Anyway, it was my fault for leaving it so late but I was not going to let that stop me. I must admit that after several hours of searching (and becoming more and more demotivated) I finally came across light (albeit a small light) at the end of the tunnel. My saviour? A site called Great Caravan Holidays, this had loads of cheap caravan holiday deals listed. Problem was, I had never considered a caravan holiday before but the prices looked so tempting (£100 for 7 nights break, for a family of 4! Have a look at www.greatcaravanholidays.co.uk if you too are tempted).

Did I book? Yes. I could not resist at that price (and I was desperate to be honest!). First time caravan holiday nerves? Definitely. However, its a cheap caravan holiday in October so I’m willing to give it a try!

I came across a great website over the weekend during my search for a winter blanket/quilt (its starting to get cold you know). Jamie Wilson basically takes baby clothes (or any fabric for that matter) that are no longer used and turns them into a fabulous custom made quilt.

The site is called www.jellybeanquilts.com and there are some great examples on there of Jamie’s previous work. Reading the reviews on the site, customers of Jelly Bean Quilts have nothing but praise for Jamie’s quilts.

Turnaround time for the quilts is currently 12-16 weeks so demand must be high. This is a great idea, however, pricing is quite expensive (starting at $475 for a small throw) but if you thing of the quilt as a keepsake then it becomes good value.

I had some free time today so I was lucky enough to accompany a friend of mine who is getting remarried next year. My friend is very organised and has already done lots of research, both from the bridal mags and sites like Pinterest (Pinterest is actually a great site for looking for wedding inspiration).

As its the second time she is getting, my friend (Helen) wanted a different feel to her wedding this time around compared to the church wedding, white dress affair she had the first time. This time she has been looking at vintage wedding ideas; Helen really wants a wedding with vintage bridal grown, traditional band and “mix-n-match” china on the tables. Helen came to the house already prepared with a digital scrapbook of vintage bridal ideas, gained from Pinterest and dedicated vintage wedding sites such as Vintage Wedding Store.

The store we went to had some fantastic vintage bridal dresses and Helen managed to find an immaculate ivory wedding dress from the 1950’s. If you are planning a vintage wedding yourself then there is plenty of inspiration out there; start with Pinterest boards but also have a look at sites such as vintageweddingstore.co.uk.

Hi all. This is my very first post on this blog so I wanted to introduce myself before getting launching into further post writing. My name is Jess Captain and I have launched “The Captain’s Deck” as a site where I can capture and share useful things, places and websites I find on my travels.

A little bit more about me. I am “middle aged” with a husband at home and 2 children that have long flew the nest. We have a dog that keeps us company and both my husband and I enjoy outdoor activities and craft type hobbies. I think if we had more time (and money) we would love to do a lot more travelling. I have a part time office job but I really enjoy writing so I thought I would give “blogging” a go (a bit late to the scene I know).